ICE's CEO Has Fielded Calls About Selling Euronext

ICE has received inquiries from rivals interested in buying NYSE Euronext's European stock exchanges once ICE completes its purchase of the New York-based exchange operator.

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- IntercontinentalExchange Inc has received inquiries from
rivals interested in buying NYSE Euronext's European
stock exchanges once ICE completes its planned purchase of the
New York-based exchange operator, ICE's chief executive said on
Monday.

Jeff Sprecher, whose $8.2 billion deal to buy the Big Board
parent took markets by surprise in late 2012, said he is not
considering any offers.

"We have received calls from other exchanges," Sprecher told
Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the Commodity
Markets Council's annual meeting of exchange leaders and their
customers. "It's not ICE's business to sell. We only have an
agreement to buy it, but it's subject to a lot of approvals and
shareholder votes. It's not a done deal so it's not even my
position that I could even entertain those type of
conversations."

He did not say which exchanges had made inquiries.

Three sources close to ICE told Reuters earlier in January
the Atlanta-based exchange operator would consider a sale of
Euronext for the right price.

The NYSE unit includes the Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels and
Lisbon stock exchanges.

On Monday, Sprecher appeared to disavow such a move,
reiterating the company's plan to turn the Euronext into an
independently governed entity.

The idea of separating the European stock-exchange unit from
the merged ICE-NYSE business was put forward in order to help
win approval for the deal from regulators, who have tripped up
prior attempts at mega-mergers in the exchange world.

Last year, the Justice Department blocked an $11 billion
joint hostile bid by ICE and Nasdaq OMX Group on
concerns that the tie-up would dominate U.S. stock listings. A
rival $9.3 billion bid by Deutsche Boerse AG ran
afoul of European regulators.

An ICE regulatory filing on Monday underscored the
importance of avoiding such an outcome, noting that the draft
merger agreement proposed a "hell-or-high-water" obligation to
obtain regulatory approval and that termination fees be
available to NYSE if ICE failed to consummate the deal.

The offer to spin Euronext off as a stand-alone company was
seen as a way to help convince European regulators that the deal
between the two U.S. exchange operators would not affect market
interests in Europe.

"I don't think ICE or me as an American should make the
determination who the better partner should be" for Euronext,
Sprecher said. "I think it's better that we give Euronext an
independent valuation and board and governance and let European
interest decide how best to organize in Europe."